At present there is no assessment of the health impacts of Saharan dust in Antigua and Barbuda. A retrospective study was conducted to determine the association between Saharan dust particles along with other climatic variables and visits to the clinics for acute respiratory infections. All visits to the clinics on both islands (n=8851) over 14 years (1999-2003, 2005, 2011-2018) were compared to the dust haze observations and climatic variables using regression analysis. A negative correlation was observed between visits to clinics for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and the presence of dust haze in the atmosphere (R2 =0.339, p=0.029). Visits for ARIs had positive correlations with wind speed (R2 =0.373, p=0.020), mean sea level pressure (R2 =0.094, p=0.286), relative humidity (R2 =0.203, p=0.106) and rainfall (R2 =0.040, p=0.493). A significant inverse relationship was found between visits and the study years (R2 =0.666, p=<0.001). Saharan dust impacts the residents of Antigua and Barbuda causing an increase in visits to clinics for ARIs with a lag or latency interval between the dust events. These findings provide good evidence which should aid governments in planning their strategic response to this serious public health issue.

Many economies in small tropical islands are built on tourism, using their sun, sea and sand to entice visitors. However, climate variability and climate change are affecting these small islands, threatening many livelihoods and their fragile economies. There is limited information on the adaptation strategies and perception of climate change within key sectors of these economies, including the accommodation sector. Hence a study which examines the experiences of Antigua Island in the Caribbean and Efate Island in the South Pacific. The uniqueness of this study is that there are few published articles on this topic especially those comparing two islands. This study found that whilst all hoteliers perceived changes in precipitation, temperature and sea level only a limited number implemented few adaptation measures. We conclude that there is need for government regulation of the accommodation sector as it relates to managing the impacts of climate change, to help build resilience within the sector and wider economy.